Illusions of Reality
by CrypticScripts
Summary: Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? You’ve lived your entire life believing this dream to be true. But one day, you clear the Veil pulled over your eyes, that blinds you from the truth to see the real world. HP/Matrix Xover. Honks!
1. Through the Rabbit Hole

**ILLUSIONS OF REALITY**

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**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Spoilers:** PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, QTTA, FB.

**Genres:** Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure/Romance.

**Rating:** **M** - For **MATURE** language and themes.

**Summary:** Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? You've lived your entire life believing this dream to be true. But one day, you clear the Veil, pulled over your eyes, that blinds you from the truth to see the real world. HP/Matrix X-over. Honks!

**Author's Notes:**

**1.** Crossover: Harry Potter/The Matrix Trilogy.

**2.** Main Ships: Harry/Tonks, Neo/Trinity, Morpheus/Niobe.

**3.** Timeline: The real date is immaterial. Just know that the events at the end of **Revolutions** and **OotP** occur during the same year. 1996, I think, is as good as any other.

**4.** Reviews: Constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Flames, if not legitimate, will be used in my BBQ.

**5.** Thanks: To the folks at FanficAuthors and ReadCon for their help with this chapter.

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**Chapter 1 – Through the Rabbit Hole**

**A. Everything that has an End…**

Location: **The Matrix**.

The sky was illuminated in a sickly greenish black colour as a raging storm pelted the urban nightscape below. Thunder boomed, spitting lightning from every crowd like the constant flicker of snake tongues. The steady downpour of rain did nothing but aggravate the already darkened situation. Lightning flashed across a group of people - Agent Smiths, all identical copies of the original one - showing them smiling with satisfaction… something that should have been foreign to them… and yet wasn't. They had gathered, in their perfect dark suits and sunglasses, to watch the two entities who were at the centre of it all, at the proverbial eye of the storm – Agent Smith, the original… and Neo.

The battle had been going on for quite some time now, and neither of them had the upper hand. They had started on the watery street, but had slowly started to rise up beyond the city's glass towers, until they were fighting in mid air, oblivious to the height and anything else. They punched, kicked, grappled, locked together, but all in a constant motion – like electrons chasing each other around a single nucleus.

All of a sudden, Smith landed a series of savage blows that stunned Neo, making him slip down, twisting in the air, lost for a moment and feeling very vulnerable. Twin bursts of lightning struck through the dark sky, haloing the dark suited demon with jagged broken rays of light, just as he rose up, a victorious grin on his face. With the crashing din of thunder that followed, he once again went for the kill. He dived down and slammed into Neo, tackling him, and driving both of them down towards the earth.

Together they fell, streaking like a comet, faster than the falling rain, plummeting past the mirrored towers. Neo, aware that the ground was approaching fast, struggled to get free from the Agent's grip, but Smith held him tight. There was no chance of Smith releasing him now, even as he felt the One struggling in his grasp. It was _**inevitable**_, he knew, as the ground rushed towards them. _**He**_ was unstoppable.

With a concussive blast, the unstoppable force met an immovable object. A massive crater formed in the ground, and even the buildings buckled as a wave of unequalled destruction rushed out over the urban chasm. Inside the crater, a bowl in the earth, the exposed viscera of the metropolis was seen – broken pipes, sparking cables and rent sewers. The rain water trickled inside the crater, trying to fill it, surrounding the body of the fallen warrior. Smith looked around to see the other Agents assemble at the edge of the crater looking inside. He gave them a victorious look and turned his attention to his arch nemesis.

The continuous drizzle of rain gradually brought Neo back to consciousness. He opened his eyes through the falling raindrops and saw Smith standing over him. Knowing how important this fight was for the humans, he once again tried to get up. But it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. His mind was willing, but his body was battered and weak.

"Why, Mr. Anderson, why?" Smith asked, frustration ringing in his voice as he saw his opponent struggle even to pull out his arm from the wet sucking mud. "Why, why do you do it? Why, why get up? Why keep fighting?"

He saw Neo's efforts were successful as the One finally managed to roll over.

"Do you believe you're fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is, do you even know?"

Neo started to crawl towards the other side of the crater, the rain streaking the mud down his face like black tears.

"Is it freedom or truth, perhaps peace - could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception… temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although, only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love."

By this time Neo had managed to crawl to the other side and was trying to get up.

"You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now! You can't win! It's pointless to keep fighting!"

Neo could hear how annoyed Smith was. Summoning his strength once more, he finally managed to push himself to his hands and knees. He stumbled a bit, yet managed to stand up, making Smith snarl in displeasure.

"Why, Mr. Anderson, why, why do you persist?"

"Because I choose to," Neo replied.

Smith howled in aggravation, and once again launched an attack on Neo, who parried his punches. Smith tried to punch Neo's midsection again, but this time Neo absorbed the attack. Neo parried another couple Smith's punches, causing Smith to become momentarily off-balanced. Suddenly and swiftly, as if he hadn't suffered any damage till now, Neo threw a vicious punch at Smith's face, making the Agent reel back in surprise. Unable to defend in time, the fist connected with his face like a hammer, distorting his features and making his eyes go blank. Seeing Smith stagger, Neo summoned every last bit of his energy and slammed a double punch at him, his hands connecting with their target with all the momentum of a cannonball. The resulting impact catapulted Smith into the walls of the crater, burying him from sight.

Neo had put so much energy into the blow that he had barely enough left to stand. He swayed in the rain watching the army of Smiths looking down from the crater edge. He knew he was exhausted, and that indeed was bad news. He would have no chance of survival, if the army decided to rain down on him. But all of them stayed silent, watching him, as though they were statues.

A low ominous rumble began to shake the earth and Neo recognised it for what it was. He watched as the rumble rose, the wall of the crater suddenly exploded like an exit wound, making earth and asphalt shotgun out, and Smith burst from his grave. He hung in the air, his mud covered face distorted with rage.

"This is my world! My world!" Smith shouted in fury.

He dived into Neo, who had no energy left to stop the flying Agent, almost burying him in the wet mud. He began battering Neo, each bludgeoning blow striking in time with searing bolts of lightning as if synchronised. He seized Neo by the throat, hoisted him up like a rag doll and fired another punch that sent Neo flying, bouncing down to the earth like a crashing airplane, trenching to a stop at the crater wall.

Smith was about to press his frenzied attack but he froze as the image of Neo lying splayed suddenly looked much familiar.

"Wait... I've seen this. This is it, this is the end. Yes, you were laying right there, just like that, and I... I... I stand here, right here, I'm... I'm supposed to say something. I say... Everything that has a beginning has an end, Neo."

The familiar words said by the Oracle suddenly managed to clear Neo's mind. It was as if he now understood what he had to do. He understood his purpose. He looked up as Smith looked down on him with extreme confusion. The raindrops blurred his vision making Smith blink them away.

"What? What did I just say?"

Neo once again started to get up, gathering strength from the knowledge of his purpose.

"No... No, this isn't right, this can't be right."

Smith saw that Neo had managed to stand up in front of him.

"Get away from me!" He shouted, suddenly in panic.

"What are you afraid of?" Neo asked.

"It's a trick." Smith said. He still couldn't believe his eyes.

"You were right, Smith. You were always right."

Rain poured down Smith's tortured face, his disbelief still evident.

"It was inevitable."

Hearing that particular statement, Smith fired up once again. In a crackling, blinding flash of lightning, he rushed towards Neo and stabbed his fist into him.

As Neo had experienced before, the darkness began to spread across his body, but he stood still, accepting it with unmatched calmness. The darkness continued to rise to his face and Neo closed his eyes, sensing the end. Finally, his whole body was lost beneath the liquid shroud, and the blackness snapped into a perfect copy of Smith with his immaculate suit and sunglasses.

Seeing his perfect replica, the mud covered Smith backed away from the new Smith, as if not trusting him.

"Is it over?" Smith asked.

The new Smith nodded his head once, making the other one smile with relief. A strange giddiness began to spread through him and he started to laugh. A few moments later, he realised that he was laughing alone. None of the other Smiths, nor the new one, were laughing with him. He had a feeling that something was terribly wrong with the new Smith.

Suddenly, the new Smith began to tremble, a shiver that grew into a convulsion. That was when Smith realised the reason behind the strange turn of events. Neo had once again connected him to the Machine Mainframe. The Deus Ex Machina was removing him from existence. He was losing his copies. He had outlived his purpose. But more importantly, he had lost his **freedom**.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, it's not fair." Smith cried out in despair.

He saw light beginning to brighten around the sunglasses of his replica, until he began to crack and shred like wet tissue, as shafts of brilliant light burst free. Even he began to feel it as his body began to shiver uncontrollably, no doubt due to the efforts of the Deus Ex Machina.

"No!" Smith shouted again as the new Smith continued to crack open. The light beaming out from his distended and deteriorating form filled the crater, and one by one, it spread through all the Smiths.

Suddenly shafts of light burst from the shells of all the Smiths like water breaking through a dam. Each dark silhouette dissolved away until there were hundreds of faceless forms all made of bright radiant light.

At the centre of the crater, Smith tried to fight till his last, his screams railing against the buildings. He desperately tried to find a way to sever his reconnection with the machines. But in the end, even he burst open and was consumed in an explosion of blinding light that swept through the entire city. When everything cleared up, all that was left in the crater was the unconscious body of the Oracle.

* * *

**B. … sees a new Beginning.**

Location: **Zion**.

A hovering sentinel suddenly closed its dish, turned and rose up out through the hole made by the digger. One by one, the other sentinels followed leaving the humans in complete disbelief. No one could understand what they were seeing.

"It doesn't make sense," Lock muttered, clutching his gun as he watched the leaving sentinel army.

Morpheus walked forward and looked up at, what was, without question, a miracle. The entire Sentinel army was leaving Zion.

"He did it," he said, his voice filled with surprise.

He saw the others moving in behind him, their faces staring up in awe.

"He saved us. He saved us." Kid said in wonder as the last of the machines glided out of sight. Waves of emotion swept through everyone. He couldn't hold it in and burst out screaming. "It's over, he did it! He did it, he did it! It's over! It's over, he did it! He did it!"

"What is it, what happened?" Councillor Hamann asked him.

"Sir, he did it, sir - Neo - he did it!"

"Did what?"

"He ended the war, the machines are gone! The war is over, sir! The war is over!"

Hamann sucked in a deep breath hearing the information. Kid turned away and leaped onto a boulder and shouted the news, his joyous shouts filling the Temple. A huge resounding cheer surged up from the people of Zion as they were overcome with relief and joy.

Outside the Temple, Morpheus felt himself unable to move, as he embraced the moment he had waited his entire life for. He couldn't believe it.

"I have imagined this moment for so long." He looked at Niobe. "Is this real?"

She nodded and he reached out to her, wanting something to make him believe it, and found it in her arms.

"Neo, wherever you are, thank you," she said softly, looking up with tears brimming in her bright eyes.

A few moments later, Morpheus extracted himself from the embrace and went to Lock, who was standing perfectly still looking at the hole through which the machines had disappeared, as if rooted to the spot.

"Commander Lock," Morpheus tried to get his attention.

"Morpheus," he replied softly, still staring ahead, "I remember saying something to you, not so long ago. I'll say it once again. Not everyone believes what you believe, Morpheus."

Morpheus did not know how to respond and so, he just waited patiently. A few moments later, Lock turned around, his face betraying nothing.

"But this day, Morpheus, you've made a believer out of me."

They stared at one another for a long moment, reminiscing the days when they were best friends, inseparable even. The next moment, they had seized one another in an embrace, like brothers who had met after a long time. When they pulled away, Niobe was once again in Morpheus' arms.

"See Jason," Niobe said with a smile, "some things do change."

"Yes, they do," he agreed with a sad smile, seeing them together. "We need to start with the repairs as soon as possible. They city defences need to be rebuilt. We won't survive another attack even half as strong as this one. Though I would like to believe that the war is over, I don't want to take any chances. Are you with me Morpheus?"

"Our destination has always been the same, Commander. It is our paths that have been different."

"It's Jason, Morpheus, I don't think there's enough Commander left in me. Besides, you never listen to any of my orders," he joked, making Niobe and Morpheus smile. "Captain Morpheus, as Supreme Commander of all Military Defence Forces, and as a resident of Zion, I ask you to please do anything that you can to help rebuild the city. Captain Niobe, you'll assist the captain in this."

"As you request, Commander, I will start with salvaging the ships immediately. We will have the systems online soon enough."

They shook hands and Lock turned away, barking orders to anyone he came across.

"I think he was better off being a **Deadbolt**," Niobe said.

"You mean - bureaucratic, taciturn, unimaginative, uncharismatic…"

"Yes, yes, all that and much more." Seeing his raised eyebrows, she clarified, "It was easier to hate him then."

Smiling, they embraced once again, expressing their love with a passionate kiss.

A couple of hours had passed since the machines had retreated, and Morpheus, Niobe, Lock and the other surviving captains were gathered for an emergency Council meeting discussing the future of the city. The reconstruction of the city had already started and was going on in full swing. All systems were online, and although people were still celebrating, an exceptional amount of work was being done along with it.

Suddenly, the meeting was interrupted when doors opened and a man rushed in, shouting at the top of his voice. Everyone knew that interrupting a Council meeting had to be bad new indeed.

"Commander, Commander Lock, we have got incoming!"

Everyone froze as their fears were confirmed, except Lock and Morpheus, who immediately rushed with the man to the command centre, Niobe following right behind them.

"This is not good, Morpheus," Lock said.

Morpheus nodded recognising the gravity of the situation. They didn't have any means to survive another attack. When they reached the Proximity Console, they saw the operations system showing a hologram of three machines – one as big as a truck, and two sentinels approaching the same way the others had left earlier.

"Sir, it doesn't look like an attack formation. They also started transmitting a code as soon as they came within the range of our receivers."

"What code is it?"

"It's repetitive, sir, a single one, followed by a group of three. But it doesn't match any of our codes."

He pressed some keys in quick succession and switched the screen to display the code.

**1 – 111 – 1 – 111 – 1 – 111 – 1 – 111…**

"What does that mean?" Lock asked. He looked over to Morpheus, but he too appeared to be puzzled by it. That wasn't a standard code they had ever used.

"It's Neo and Trinity," a voice said. All heads turned to see Niobe standing behind them. "It's them, I'm sure of it. A one and then three ones – the One and the Trinity."

"We can't be sure of that," Lock said doubtfully. "Why aren't they coming in the **Logos** then? What do you think Morpheus?"

"It seems probable. They might have lost the Logos during their journey, a struggle most likely, and so perhaps had to find another means of transport."

"That still doesn't explain the two sentinels. What' the ETA?"

"Current speed indicates touchdown in two minutes and fifteen seconds, sir."

"Very well, prepare for level two defences with groups of five at strategic areas in the dock. I don't want to take any chances. Tell them to be on guard, but do not open fire until absolutely necessary. Anyone who goes trigger happy will be brought in front of the Council."

The trio hurried from the command centre to reach the dock just in time for the three machines to touch the ground. By that time, the soldiers had already formed a defensive shield around the landing machines. The two sentinels were acting twitchy, and appeared ready for an attack, but thankfully didn't do so. A couple of moments later, the machines settled down, and the twin doors of the big "truck" machine opened up. A number of smaller machines slowly emerged from inside carrying two bodies – Neo and Trinity. They lowered them in front of the first line of defence and slowly backed away into the truck, just as they had come out.

"Unit one, take Neo and Trinity immediately to the hospital," Lock barked. "Unit three, cover them, Unit two, reform the defence."

The two were immediately picked and carried away to safety by the defenders, while another group took position in front of the machines. The doors to the big truck like machine closed and all three of them began to rise. The sentinels suddenly jerked and stopped, and opened its communication disk with a snap.

A few moments later, the dish closed and one of them came down once again. It pointed one of its arms towards the defenders and extended a thin needle shaped like a connector.

"Sir," one of the defenders called out in his microphone, "unidentified behaviour seen. Orders, sir?"

Seeing that the machines were attacking, Morpheus, Lock and Niobe rushed forward towards the waiting sentinel.

"It looks like a transmitter," Lock said, seeing the thin needle.

"Perhaps it wants to pass a message," Morpheus replied.

Lock nodded and ordered the control room to bring a receiving terminal. A few minutes later, a terminal capable of being jacked into by the incoming connector was brought out, and the machine immediately plugged into it. The screen showed a file being transferred and then a message that the file was successfully received. The sentinel then unplugged from the terminal and left with the other two machines.

"What does it say?" Lock asked the man holding it.

"Wait, what if it is a virus?" one of the defenders asked.

"It won't matter," the technician replied. "This is a slave terminal, and as the name suggests, is of no great importance. Even if it is a virus, it won't matter if this machine is affected by it."

He typed a bunch of keys on the keyboard and opened the file. It turned out to be a simple text file and the message consisted of just a few words.

_Take care of them. The war is still not over._

_Morpheus, sunrise, the Lake._

_-- __**O**__._

"It's from the Oracle," Morpheus said and his voice showed his surprise. "Commander, I need to -"

"You have the permission, Captain," Lock said, interrupting him. "But you will need a ship. You don't have the Nebuchadnezzar anymore. Is there any other ship in a relatively better condition for a safe journey to the surface?"

"The **Polaris** is in good condition, Commander," Niobe said.

"Very well, take it. I'll arrange for someone to ready the ship. You should collect your crew. And watch your backs. We'll take care of Neo and Trinity."

Morpheus and Niobe immediately went inside the city to gather the crew. The news of the machines arrival had spread through the city and many people started asking them questions as soon as they saw them. But Morpheus and Niobe ignored them. They had to get the crew ready for departure as soon as possible.

An hour later, Morpheus, Niobe, Link and Kid – who was truly elated when asked to be a part of the crew – were on their way in the Polaris. It wasn't as good as the Neb, but they would have to make do. There were only nine hours till sunrise.

"Link, how much is the estimated ETA?" Morpheus asked.

"Calculating sir," was Link's swift reply, as he began typing furiously at the various consoles. "Neb was a good ship, sir. It would have taken her ten and a half hours. Logos was the fastest one, I think, and it could have covered the distance in eight, maybe seven and a half hours."

Niobe smiled proudly at the mention of her hovercraft. She loved it, but it was a pity that it was now lost.

"The Polaris is a tricky one. It has a slightly faulty transmission which is causing the speed to fluctuate. It isn't anything major, but enough that I cannot calculate the ETA accurately."

"I want us at broadcast level and jacked into the Matrix by sunrise."

"Roger that, Captain."

In the end, the Polaris managed to reach broadcast level well before sunrise. As Morpheus and Niobe started for the lake, they met Seraph and Sati on the way. They too were heading to meet the Oracle. They crossed a small grassy hill and saw her sitting on a park bench near the lake water.

"Oracle!" Sati shouted, and immediately bolted for her and the Oracle caught her in an affectionate hug. "We were afraid we might not find you."

"Everything's okay now," the Oracle assured her.

"Look, look!" Sati said, excitedly pointing towards an unbelievably beautiful sunrise. Rays of extraordinarily vibrant colours streaked across the sky with the joy and ardour similar to a child's painting.

"Just look at that! Beautiful! Did you do that?" Oracle asked her.

Sati beamed and nodded her head.

"For Neo."

"That's nice. I know he'd love it."

"Will I get to see him again?"

"I suspect so. Someday."

"Did you always know?" Seraph asked.

"Oh no. No, I didn't. But I believed. I believed." Oracle answered with a smile.

"Where do we go from here?"

"We would like to know that as well," Morpheus said, speaking for the first time.

"Ah, Morpheus, I'm so glad you could make it. How are they?"

An hour before they reached broadcast level, the Polaris had received news about Neo and Trinity from Zion.

"Trinity had a punctured lung and some internal bleeding. The medics are still working on her. The damage was too much, yet she survived. Neo… they are not sure about him. He appears to be in a coma, much like he had the last time when he accidentally jacked into the Matrix. But his neural patterns are not the same as they were last time. At the moment, the medics are working on restoring his eyesight. They can do nothing else."

"Just as I suspected."

"What do you mean?"

"Once again he has trapped himself, somewhere unreachable for any of us."

"The Merovingian?"

"No, not him. Not even I can reach there, I'm afraid. He is trapped at the boundary of the Matrix and the Intra-Matrix."

"Excuse me?" Niobe said, confused at this revelation.

"There is a Matrix within the Matrix, called the Intra-Matrix. Neo is currently trapped at its boundary. No one from this Matrix can reach there, if you do not truly belong there. Seraph will tell you all the details. He knows it very well. You'll need his help in the future."

"A Matrix within the Matrix?" Morpheus asked doubtfully.

"You have to accomplish an important task now, Morpheus, the same as last time."

"To find the One? How is that possible? Neo **is** the One."

"Neo cannot do this alone, Morpheus, not anymore. He will need help, but he is trapped at the moment. You cannot free Neo. To do that, you need to find someone else who can."

"Who?"

"Another One," she said and smiled what Morpheus found a most infuriating smile.

* * *

**C. Through the Looking Glass**

Location: **The Ministry of Magic**.

Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place.

Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing – Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second…

But Sirius did not reappear.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled. "SIRIUS!"

He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out…

But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, he felt someone grabbing him around the chest, holding him back.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry." It was Tonks.

"Get him, save him; he's only just gone through!"

"It's too late, Harry."

"We can still reach him!"

Harry struggled hard and viciously, but she would not let go… But Harry was nothing if not stubborn. He struggled tooth and nail, and somehow managed to reach the archway, with Tonks still trying desperately to pull him back. He glanced once behind him, then back to the archway and blinked in surprise. The darkness of the Veil was disappearing, and was being replaced by a mirror surface that appeared to be cracked beyond repair. He was so surprised that Tonks actually managed to pull him a couple of steps away from the archway.

He almost thought of cursing her when his eyes blinked and twitched. His attention was drawn once again to the mirror, almost like a piece iron attracted by a magnet. He felt that the mirror was acting as some kind of cover that prevented Sirius from coming out of the Veil. Aiming to shatter it, he started firing curses at it but was shocked to see them simply being absorbed by the shiny surface.

But that was not the only surprising thing he witnessed. Wide-eyed, he stared at the mirror as it began to heal itself, like a web of cracks that slowly ran together as though the mirror were becoming liquid. He looked around once again, but no one was paying them any attention. No spell had caused the crack mirror to repair. It was as if it had a life of its own.

"Did you…?"

He wanted to ask Tonks if she had done it, but even she was looking at the repairing archway with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

Taking a chance, he tried to punch the mirror and his hand disappeared halfway to his elbow beneath the soft gelatinous surface. Quickly, he tried to pull it out but the mirror stretched in long rubbery strands like mirrored taffy stuck to his fingertips.

"What the…" he cried out in disbelief.

The strands thinned like rubber cement as he pulled away, until the fragile wisps of mirror thread finally broke. He looked at his hands – fingers distended into mirrored icicles that began to melt rapidly, dripping, running like wax down his hand. It spread across his elbow and he saw the reflection of his face in his palm, with surprise written all over it.

He waved his hand frantically in front of Tonks' face to get her attention. Seeing the liquid mirror spreading over his skin, she sprang into action and began to cast a variety of spells on it. But no spell seemed to be effective as the mirrored gel, seemed to come to life, racing, crawling up his arms like hundreds of insects. It was cold, too cold to bear in his frightened state.

"Can't you get it off?" He shouted in a voice full of panic.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" She yelled back, all the while trying to get rid of the shiny attacking gel.

"Tonks, look out!" He suddenly shouted.

The mirrored liquid had somehow latched onto her arms too, and had started spreading on her skin, much like it had spread on him. He started to panic, as the mirror crept up his neck. His mind somehow seemed unable to function, and he felt as if he was sinking into the mirror. He felt like he was drowning in a mirrored sea. He tried to keep his eyes open, but the approaching darkness was hindering his vision. He couldn't even breathe.

Suddenly, he heard a high-pitched electric scream – a piercing shriek that his mind figured as made by a banshee. He screamed as his body arched in agony.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and was mercifully swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

**Author's Notes****:**

This is an idea that I had in my mind for a really long time. This isn't a Harry Potter story with some minor Matrix elements. It is a complete crossover, and that means that both sides will have a near equal part in the story. That's one of the reasons why you don't see a title like "Harry Potter and the blah-blah" or "The Matrix Re-blah-ed".

Anyway, I really want to know your opinions on this. I'm only going to spend time on this if it is appreciated. Else, all my efforts will be concentrated on **NGA**, which as you all know, has been suffering greatly due to RL issues. I really hope that you people like it. And the only way to express it is by means of a **review**. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them too, and I'll make sure to reply to them appropriately. So please tell me what you think. The future of this story depends on it.

-- **Levi**.


	2. From Dreams to Reality

**ILLUSIONS OF REALITY**

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**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks for the overwhelming response to the previous chapter. I think that I have answered every person who has reviewed, except the anonymous ones. So if you leave your emails, or login before reviewing, I will answer you too.

I expect a similar response for this chapter too.

Special thanks to **The Redpills**, especially **Dervish**; and **Perspicacity** for help with this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – From Dreams to Reality**

* * *

Location: **The Polaris, Main Deck.**

The sound of keys being rapidly tapped across keyboards could be heard as Link scanned the Matrix's databases for information on potential redpills. Ever since the machines had agreed to let them unplug the people, they did not have to play hide and seek with the sentinels. They still avoided them nonetheless – it was better to be safe than sorry. There was peace after a long time spent in war, and they had managed to reach out to many people and show them the truth.

It was a subtle and lengthy process – selecting the candidates, watching them, approaching them if suitable, and finally, opening their eyes to the truth. There was only one rule they strictly followed. They only approached people who were young, at most in their late teens. The minds of the young had less trouble accepting the harsh truth, and so it was much safer. But once a mind reached a certain age, it became dangerous. The mind had trouble letting go.

Sadly, not everyone elected to be free. Some didn't even want to believe the truth. Many of them were so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the comforts of virtual reality that they straightaway refused to wake up. In such cases, they had to be given the blue pill – a program that erased the truth from their memory. Being born in Zion, Link did not know how the virtual reality felt like, except from what he heard from the other redpills. He knew that given the choice, he would refuse a life of bondage and lies and choose freedom and truth instead. But he also knew how the real world was. It was a desert and he could not fault them for living in a dream world.

On the other side of the main deck, facing another set of terminals, sat Morpheus. He too, was working diligently, a fact which could be accessed by seeing his fingers moving as a blur across his own set of keyboards. Encoded texts and all sorts of data were being displayed at an amazing speed – and just as soon were discarded for new ones. The process continued. For a moment, Link stopped to watch his captain's work. He was an Operator – and a pretty good one too. But he could see that Morpheus had the skills to put even the best Operators to shame.

Link was well aware of what Morpheus was doing. Finding the One was no easy task. But he had faith in his captain. He knew that Morpheus had done it once before, and so believed he could do it once again. What was actually difficult was hacking into the Intra-Matrix, which was, in fact, a Matrix inside the Matrix. Link had tried doing that, and had failed. He had to hand it to the Architect – the program who created the Matrix. He had encoded the Matrix in such a way that no trace of the existence of the Intra-Matrix could be found. It was as if the thing did not exist, and Link would have held this opinion had the Oracle not informed them about it.

Truth be told, Link was worried for Morpheus. From the time Morpheus had returned from his visit with the Oracle, he had spent every minute he could, buried in his task. He would spend hours at a time in front of the terminals trying to forge a way into the Intra-Matrix. And though the Oracle had asked him to wait for something – a _sign_ as such, Morpheus had completely ignored her advice, and instead, was trying to force his way in. _'He will find you'_, the Oracle had said about Neo. But even she had no info about the new One. To complicate matters, Morpheus had lost faith in her since Neo had exposed the truth – it was all another system of control and she was an integral part of it.

And now, when nearly three and a half months had passed without any success, Morpheus was still going at it with the same fervour he had started with. He had no regards for his own welfare and his health was deteriorating due to the strain of working. If it weren't for the ship needing refuelling and maintenance, they wouldn't even have made their monthly trips back home. They needed thirty hours to recharge the ship, and a few to take care of the minor problems. That was the only time Link got to spend with his family and Link always looked forward to these trips.

Link nearly jumped out of his seat as a _beep-beep_ from the console's speakers drew his attention back to the present. He read the message quickly and almost jumped for joy. It was from Captain Niobe saying that she would be reaching their location in about twenty minutes. A couple of days ago, he had shared his concerns about Morpheus with her. She had been in charge of the rebuilding work going on in Zion, and as such, had not met Morpheus since a long time. Under her command, and due to dedicated efforts taken by everyone, the city now looked as good as new. Link had wanted to confront his captain himself, but he knew how stubborn Morpheus could be. But he also knew that if anyone could make Morpheus realise the truth, it would have to be Niobe, though she, too, was doubtful. And so, Link had devised the perfect plan – he would only confront Morpheus when he had backup… meaning Niobe. And once she took over, he would make a quiet exit and let her handle him. _Ding-dong, problem solved._

"Sir," Link called, drawing Morpheus' attention, "I need to speak with you about something important."

"Can't it wait?" Morpheus replied without looking back. "I'm busy right now."

"With all due respect, sir, it cannot," Link said firmly. Evidently, Morpheus was surprised at his tone, and he immediately turned around with a calculating gaze. Link could help but feel a bit apprehensive. He had never spoken to Morpheus like this before.

"Go ahead, Link. I'm all ears."

Link had played such a scenario many times in his mind. He had rehearsed exactly how to say everything respectfully and without provoking Morpheus. But when, the time finally did come, his throat felt dry and words failed him. His false bravado vanished under Morpheus' silent stare.

"Link," Morpheus said after a few moments of silence, "as I understand the facts, you have interrupted me while I was working on something which we all know to be of paramount importance. You say that you have something you wished to tell me, something important, and yet when-"

"You need to stop!" Link blurted, as if suddenly reminded of his purpose by Morpheus' words. "Sir," he added as an afterthought.

"Excuse me?"

Gathering the bit and pieces of his courage, Link said, "You need to stop, sir. Each day you spend hours at the consoles without resting. You don't sleep enough and sometimes you even skip meals. This has got to stop, sir. I understand that whatever you are doing is very important, but your life is definitely more important than it. You won't accomplish anything if you end up dead."

"I did not know you had the authority to order me around, Link. As far as I know, I am the Captain of this ship. Or has that changed? After all, we are the only ones on this ship. A mutiny isn't out of the question."

Link visibly bristled at the words.

"You are indeed the Captain, **sir**," Link emphasized the word. "And I respect you. But you forget that I am the ship's Operator. It is my duty to see that the crew are safe. As a Captain, you are still part of the crew, sir, and I will do my job, even if I have to protect you from yourself."

Before Morpheus could reply, the ship along with the pipeline in which they had settled it, began to shake and a deafening rumble thundered through them as another hovercraft began to approach, and a few moments later landed alongside. Morpheus recognised it and gave Link another sharp glance, which he returned with a small smile. _Victory was so close._

Morpheus quickly shut down all the terminals he was working on and strode from the main deck towards the ship's cargo bay, which also served hosted the ship's entrance, while Link followed. They opened the door which made a loud sound similar to the grinding of a tank tread's metal teeth. Outside, Niobe waited patiently for the door to open, calm and collected as always. The hardening of her eyes and clenching of her fists was the only reaction she gave on seeing Morpheus. Link felt that he wouldn't want to be Morpheus in the near future.

"Captain Morpheus," Niobe greeted.

_Uh-oh! Such formality? She's definitely pissed,_ Link thought. He saw that even Morpheus felt it.

"Captain Niobe," Morpheus greeted back, albeit with a pleasant smile.

_That's not gonna let you off the hook,_ Link thought.

"Hello Link," she greeted and gave him a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Captain Niobe. The work's gruelling, and we don't get a single day off. But I've volunteered and it's worth it."

"Zee's not too happy with you."

"Yeah, well, work is work." He shrugged. "It's life. Shit happens."

"Even when you are not the one responsible?" she asked, glancing at Morpheus.

"I see why you chose this particular moment to speak with me, Link," Morpheus said. "Are you here to confront me too, Captain Niobe? If so, I'd like to point out that you would not be successful."

"Er, I-I have something to do, yeah, something…" Link replied nervously, "oh, yeah, I need to – to charge the EMP."

"Link, wait a moment. I am here to do exactly that, Captain Morpheus. I am Link's backup plan. But I'm not alone."

"No?" Morpheus asked, surprised.

"Even I have some backup."

Niobe then turned back and gestured at someone on her ship. A few moments later, a tall and lean figure emerged out of the other hovercraft. In the faint light, it was difficult for Link to see who it was, but besides him, Morpheus had no such trouble. His face, which held a mild surprise earlier, now wore an expression of shock and happiness. And as the figure stepped into the light, Link recognised her too. It was Trinity. Link truly felt sorry for his Captain.

As soon as she stepped inside the ship, Trinity was caught in a massive bear hug, courtesy of Morpheus. Link felt his eyes blur as tears threatened to fall. He furiously rubbed them away and enveloped her as soon as Morpheus released her. Not only was Trinity the second-in-command next to Morpheus, she was also a wonderful person. Everyone was truly happy to see that she had fully recovered from her injuries and to have her back.

"What have you been doing to yourself, Morpheus?" Trinity asked sternly, though her concern was evident.

"I don't think I will survive both of you," Morpheus said after a few moments of silence, making everyone chuckle.

* * *

Link watched the Construct's Image Translators in astonishment as both Niobe and Trinity tore into Morpheus' defences in the virtual Dojo. The three of them had reached an agreement that Morpheus would have to limit his work if Niobe and Trinity managed to defeat him. It was a known fact throughout Zion that Morpheus could hold his own while facing three opponents at a single time, even when Captain Mifune, who was the best of the fighters having trained Morpheus, was one of them. Not even a team of the three best fighters had ever managed to overpower him. Naturally, Link had feared that the match would be a one sided contest.

His fears were proved wrong.

Here he was, the great Morpheus, getting beaten by Niobe and Trinity. Though Morpheus had tried hard to hold his ground, even he knew that it was his efforts which were going to be unsuccessful. Link already knew Morpheus was fighting a lost cause. His fitness had declined too much, and though his mind was strong, his body was letting go. In the end – which came after an hour long battle – Morpheus surrendered and promised to be more careful in the future.

"And of course, we'll know if you stray even a small bit," Niobe said, glancing at Link as he eased the plug out of her neck. "Won't we, Link?"

"Yes ma'am," Link answered and mock saluted.

"Don't worry about it Niobe," Trinity said. "I'll make sure he doesn't overexert himself. I'm staying on the ship."

"No, Trinity, that's not going to happen," Niobe replied, glaring at her. "I only allowed you to come because you promised you wouldn't argue about going back home. The doctors have said that you still need some rest, another couple of weeks, before you can join in. You are going back, and remaining there till the doctors give you permission to leave. I shouldn't even have let you get into the Construct."

"But-"

"No buts. You promised me. And if you don't return with me, I'll bring you in front of the Council and make sure that you never get active duty in the future. So, that's an order."

"Fine," Trinity relented. "But we'll leave tomorrow. I'm fed up of the terrible sound your ship made on the journey here. I'll end up insane if I have to make another trip like that so soon."

"Hey, that's not my ship," Niobe protested. "It's only a temp. It's not even a tenth of what the _Logos_ was."

"Well, it is a flying piece of junk that makes lots of noise," Trinity declared. "And I'm not stepping in that thing until tomorrow."

"You won't have to bear it for long, Trinity," Morpheus said with a smile. "I have received news that the construction of new ones is almost done. A few flight safety tests and we'll have them in no time."

"They better be good."

"Oh, they definitely are," Link said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't know about the others but the _Neb_'s replacement is supposed to be one and a half times as fast as the _Logos_ was. Captain Niobe might not have the fastest ship this time around."

Trinity and Link laughed at the teasing Niobe had to endure, but she did not seem as fazed as they had hoped. Instead she just smiled in return.

"Link," Morpheus said, "I don't think you know Niobe quite as well as you think you do."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Morpheus did not answer straightaway, but smiled in an _'I know something that you don't'_ manner.

"You are not as perceptive or all-knowing as you think you are, Morpheus," Niobe retorted.

"No?" he asked, still smiling. "Perhaps I'm not. But would you deny that you bullied the constructors to make the newer version of the _Logos_ faster than the rest of the ships?"

"What?" Trinity and Link both asked in surprise.

"I did not bully them," Niobe stated adamantly.

Morpheus just smiled in return. Niobe found it was quite infuriating really.

"I might have said a word or two."

Morpheus kept smiling.

"-and gave them certain instructions, you know…"

His smile widened.

"Alright, alright! Jesus Christ! I threatened to blow up all the remaining ships if mine wasn't the fastest. Are you happy now?" She gave a huff. "Stop with the smile already. It's irritating me."

"You may be right you know," Morpheus replied. "I am not as perceptive as I think. I never thought you would act so petulant."

"I am not acting petulant. I'd rather think that of all the parties present, I am the most mature of them all."

"Then perhaps you would excuse my immature acts of wanton lust?"

"Imm – mmph," Niobe began, but whatever she wanted to say was cut short as Morpheus captured her lips in a passionate kiss, making her melt in his arms. They separated later with swollen lips and out of breath, and yet quite pleased with the workout.

"How many times do I have to ask you to stop doing that, Morpheus?" she asked, trying to hide her smile.

"At least once more," he replied, smiling, "as always."

"You two can stop making the lovey-dovey faces now," Trinity said. "Now, since I have to return tomorrow, I don't have much time. But you could at least tell me what's going on. Everyone thinks that you are just looking for more people to unplug, but I can see that something's going on here, something big."

"Something big is certainly going on, Trinity," Morpheus said, and then gave an account of everything they had learned during the meeting with the Oracle.

"A Matrix within the Matrix?"

"The machines have never employed this level of encryption elsewhere. Or if they have, we have never been able to see it. Even when Smith made copies of himself, we were able to decrypt the logic and at least see his code. But this is different, and even though the situation is not in our favour, I would have to say that it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Unfortunately, all my efforts have failed. It's like trying to open a door without having the key."

"And you don't even know where the door is," Link said with a shrug. "Not even a back door for Programmer access."

"What's this about a new One?" Niobe asked, "And what about Neo?"

"Logically speaking, if the Intra-Matrix is another world similar to the Matrix, then it must have its own saviour, so to speak. But Neo's work is not done yet. Both of them will need each other's help, and we need to find him so that Neo can be returned from wherever he has been trapped."

"But how can we find him if we cannot jack into the Intra-Matrix?" Niobe asked. "It is impossible to locate someone in the Power Plant unless we can run the Trace on them. There might be billions of people in there and finding one particular person would take ages."

"We are doing everything that we can at this moment," Morpheus informed. "Of course we cannot search the Power Plants, and that's why I've been trying to hack the Intra-Matrix for the past three months. But we cannot rule out self-substantiation either. We have one ship currently stationed at each of the three Liquefaction Centres. They are equipped with medical facilities and their job is the see if there's a living person among the dead that are being sent for liquefaction."

"They would liquefy a living person?" Niobe asked in shock. "That's inhuman!"

"The machines are not human, Niobe. It is impossible for a mind to be reconnected to the Matrix once it has been set free. The only alternatives they have are to send the person to us – which I doubt they will do – or to send him or her for liquefaction so as to feed the others. A machine's logical choice would always be seeing after the existence of its own kind, and hence, the second option."

"Sir, do you think self-substantiation is possible in this case?" Link asked.

"Right now, that is the only alternative we have that can give us any result, and unless we can get a trace on the One or hack into the Intra-Matrix, it would be foolish of us to discard it."

"But Morpheus, there's only ever been one instance of it," Trinity said. "The odds are highly against it happening a second time."

"Right now, those are the only odds we are playing with," he replied with a sad smile.

* * *

Approximately five hours later, Morpheus was awakened by a fist banging frantically on his cabin door. He extracted himself from the bed and swung the door open to see Link standing with an almost hysterical expression on his face.

"Sir, we have a message from Ghost. He is onboard the _Pequod_. They had surveillance on the eastern Liquefaction Centre. He says that they have retrieved a female, about 20 years old from the supply lines. She's alive, but appears to be comatose. They are working on her as we speak."

"Good," Morpheus replied as they walked towards the Cockpit. "Set course for that centre immediately. Self-substantiation might be the correct alternative after all."

Ten minutes later, they were flying at top speed towards the _Pequod_, when another message arrived.

"The _Shiva_ reports the rescue of a living male, aged about 35 years. He was unconscious, but chances are good that he will recover. Should I change course, sir?"

"No," Morpheus hesitated a bit, and then continued firmly, "stop the ship."

"Sir?" Link asked uncertainly, but did as he was told and the ship slowed down and began hovering after a few moments.

"Are we waiting for something, sir?" Link ventured, when Morpheus did not answer for a long time.

"There appear to be two self-substantiations within a few minutes from each other. The odds are highly against one and yet there are two. And one of them is a female. Why did it have to happen today? What is special about today?"

Link did not answer as it appeared that Morpheus was speaking with himself.

"What is so different about today? Was there a sign? Did I miss it?"

"Er, we did have Captain Niobe and Trinity with us today," Link answered, trying to remember more. "Maybe they can help."

"Of course!" Morpheus exclaimed. "Trinity – the power of three. We have seen it time and time again. We are waiting for the One."

Almost as if on cue, a third message arrived.

"_The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.'_ Link, let's go. We are going wherever that message has come from."

As Link once again began piloting the ship, he casually glanced at the newest message that was being displayed on one of the screens.

_Morpheus, we have recovered a male child, 15 years old, now unconscious._

_His vitals are stable. We shall keep looking for more survivors._

– _Colt, on board the Avatar._

* * *

Location: **Power Plant – Waste Line.**

A biting coldness of the magnitude he had never felt before brought Harry back to consciousness. He instinctively tried to curl into as small a shape as he could but found it extremely difficult to move any of his limbs. To make matters worse, he felt dizzy, nauseous and his vision was blurry in the already dim surroundings. He was also naked and covered with a gelatinous substance and surrounded by water that appeared to be the source of the cold. His head felt heavy – as if something solid was attached to it, and he was also sliding along the surface of what seemed to be the interior of a large pipeline. His body twisted and turned at considerable speed as it was moved by the water currents through the spirals and elbows of the pipe. His mouth also tasted like nothing he had ever known – something strangely metallic. His brain felt like it was about to shut down and he had to fight to remain awake.

After what felt like an eternity, his speed lessened and he came to a halt against a wiry net. The water continued to flow around him. His memory was already returning in flashes and he recalled the battle at the Department of Mysteries. For a brief moment, he thought he was dead, but he felt his body shivering in the icy water, a silent statement that indicated that he was still alive. Something bumped into his side but Harry was too cold to care.

Suddenly, the darkness disappeared and light came in from the top. It was so unnaturally bright and it hurt his eyes so much that they closed on reflex. The brightness lessened and he opened his eyes reluctantly. He wanted to know what was going on. Hanging above him, silhouetted against the light was some kind of mechanical arm. He couldn't see anything else as the light came back in full force and he once again closed his eyes. But before he did, he caught a glimpse of the thing that had earlier collided with him. It was another person, naked, just like him.

A moment later, something hard and cold clamped onto his mid-section in a tight grip and he figured that the arm must have taken a hold of him. He heard a grinding noise that was too loud for his ears and felt his body separate from the flowing water as he was lifted in the air. He wondered if he was being captured by aliens, something that Dean often spoke about. The Veil appeared alien enough and it had done some weird stuff too. Dean had always said that getting kidnapped by aliens would be cool. Right now, as he tried to control his shivering, Harry felt cool in a completely different sense.

When he finally reached the surface, he squinted in the brightness and saw three figures surrounding him.

_At least they look human_, Harry thought, and lost consciousness once again.

* * *

Location: **The Avatar, Infirmary.**

When he woke up, there was the unnatural brightness around him once again. His eyes hurt and he wisely kept them closed. He thought he heard voices whispering, but felt as if they were far away and so couldn't understand anything. It did not feel like his brain was working enough to enable him to speak. He tried to move, to get up, but once again his arms and legs would not cooperate. But that small amount of strain was enough to make him pass out once again.

He woke up once again, in the same bright surroundings. He had no sense of time and so could not tell if he had been there for a few minutes or even a few months… maybe even more. His entire body was tingling like never before. At least his brain was working properly this time.

A face hovered in front of him. It was masked – like those surgeons who performed operations – and only the eyes were visible. Thoughts about aliens once again crossed Harry's mind. He remembered how Dean used to say that aliens usually captured humans, and preferably wizards, so that they could experiment on them. _'They want our magic, man,'_ he used to say. _'I'm telling you, one day they will be able to do magic just like us.'_

Hermione would, of course, scoff at his _'idiotic comments'_ as she had labelled them. And Dean would smile as if taking pity on her. _'The world isn't what everyone thinks it is. One day, you'll see the truth. But by then, it would have been too late.'_ He would walk away shaking his head. Harry never took anyone's side on that issue. He had enough enemies as it is to think of aliens capturing him for his magic. Now though, he thought that his friend's words had been true.

Something sharp stung his arm. He panicked. His vision was becoming blurry. Once again, he tried to move, but couldn't. He now was almost sure that he had been captured by aliens. He briefly wondered if Sirius had been captured too. But then light disappeared and darkness surrounded him.

* * *

Location: **Zion – Resident Quarters.**

"Harry, wake up!"

"Mmm," he replied sleepily.

Someone was shaking him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

"Go away," he moaned in displeasure.

The person was shouting now. Couldn't they see he was sleeping peacefully?

"Harry!"

He finally opened his eyes and saw a blurry face. He rubbed his eyes and the face came into focus. It was Sirius, or more accurately, a bald and too pale Sirius. Suddenly, the clouds covering his rational thought cleared, and he found himself wide awake.

"Sirius? What the hell? You are bald!"

"Oh yeah? You don't have too much hair yourself, smartarse." His godfather commented.

"What?"

He touched his head in surprise and felt a coarse surface where his usual unruly hair used to be. His hand came to an abrupt halt as it felt something smooth and metallic attached at the base of his skull.

"Oh, and you have some metallic thing sticking out of the back of your brain. As a matter of fact, I have one too. See?"

Sirius turned around and Harry recoiled in horror. It was a small circular disc, like a socket, that had been implanted there.

"Of course, we have other such things too."

He pointed at two dark jacks, one in each of his forearms. Harry looked down and saw similar ones on his own hands and other parts of his body. The one in his left forearm had a wire plugged into it and he pulled it out to reveal a long needle that had been grafted in. He stood up and began to examine himself. He too was paler than usual and was wearing a grey tunic and slacks of soft cotton. Other than having things embedded into his body, he was fine. In fact, he felt better than ever before – a new person, so to speak.

"I don't feel like I have spent twelve years in Azkaban," Sirius said, interrupting his musings. He flexed his muscles. "You are not wearing your glasses, and apparently have perfect vision. And you don't have your scar anymore."

"Really?"

He touched his forehead, but felt nothing but smooth unblemished skin. _So they had healed him too,_ he thought.

"Where are we? I don't think we're in the Ministry. They don't have such rooms… even holding cells. And all these things appear muggle."

And indeed, the room they were in was quite strange in appearance. It had entirely metallic with a couple of pipes running along the ceiling. There were two beds along two opposite walls, on one of which Harry had been sleeping a few minutes ago. The air was a bit chilly and damp. Dean's words came back to him.

"Sirius, I think we are captured by aliens," Harry said before he could stop himself.

"You mean those little green things?"

"I'm not sure." He shrugged. "They look like humans though. They may have learned how to impersonate us. This may be their spaceship."

"Hmm, probably," he said and nodded. "Aliens, you say? I remember Lily mentioning them a few times. But why would they capture us?"

"To experiment on us, most likely. One of my friends says they want our magic. I don't see my wand anywhere."

"Eh? They took our brains, I think. Drilled holes in our heads, took out the brain, and patched it up with a metal disc."

"These holes are too small to remove an entire brain, Sirius," Harry protested.

"Not too small for yours though," Sirius winked, while Harry glared in return.

"Let's see if we can get out of here," Harry said began walking to the door.

The metallic door was not locked and opened easily enough and they stepped into a large metallic balcony. He went to the edge and was astonished at the sight. It was like a bottomless pit – with an industrial tower at the centre that started somewhere above and went right up to the bottom. A geometric tangle of pipes and power lines ran everywhere. A complex lattice of suspended catwalks and bridges ran to and from the various levels and around the curved edges. Around each level of the grated walkways that had been carved into the rocky walls were doors to rooms similar to the ones they had emerged from.

A number of humans were moving throughout the entire structure – or as Harry thought of them, _aliens impersonating humans_.

"They have a whole city!" Sirius' voice could not hide his wonder and Harry simply nodded in return, unable to make a comment.

"You are correct," a new voice said.

A tall dark man was moving towards them from one end of the balcony.

"Welcome to Zion – the last human city. Welcome to the real world."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Against my style, this chapter does not end in a **'cliff hanger'**. I promise you that next chapter will, and you people will try to kill me for it.

Answer me this:

Like it? What did you like? Why did you like it? **…** **OR  
**Hate it? What did you hate? Why did you hate it?  
Can it be made better?

**Please** **review** and let me know. It won't take, but a minute or two. You can write longer reviews if you want.  
**Constructive criticism** is always welcome.

**Next Chapter:** 'There is no Spoon', where things shall become clear, hopefully. Stay tuned for the explanations.


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